Submitted by Tank_AT t3_11r2ae9 in askscience
saunders77 t1_jc8lb2t wrote
Reply to comment by Aseyhe in Does space expansion occur uniformly in all directions and dimensions? by Tank_AT
Is this askscience FAQ answer about "what is the universe expanding into" incorrect? It's saying that the distance between two "otherwise stationary" points will continue to increase. And that our "cosmic ruler" grows over time. To a non-cosmologist like me that sounds like the expert is saying space itself is expanding
Aseyhe t1_jc9rx8m wrote
It's fine to view space as expanding, since again, that represents a convenient coordinate choice. I use it frequently in calculations. The key point is just that this "expanding space" doesn't have physical consequences.
It's like how two people walking due north from the south pole will gradually separate from each other despite walking in the same cardinal direction, but the process of walking north doesn't induce an expansion force on your body.
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